A treasure trove of family snapshots from our visits to the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in 1973 and the mid-1970s. The place has changed so much it’ll blow your mind.
orlando
I’m the guest on this week’s Amateur Traveler podcast about Orlando
The award-winning travel podcast Amateur Traveler invited me to talk about Orlando’s past, present, and future and to share some of my best tips for visiting the theme parks. As usual, I have a lot to say about the place, some of which may ruffle some feathers. It made for an interesting episode. My next… Read more »
A Walt Disney World guidebook for the rest of us
Most of the other Disney guides seemed to be crypto-valentines. The market was missing a guide to Walt Disney World written for the way most of us react to the resort.
What the anti-SeaWorld documentary ‘Blackfish’ leaves out
People acted all surprised when Siegfried and Roy’s tiger attacked, too. Tourists won’t admit complicity; danger is why they go.
Are Disney’s Magic Kingdom Google Maps images fake?
What’s the deal with these bird’s-eye photos of Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando? They appear on Google Maps when you click “Satellite.” They look fabricated. Why?
Jutta Levasseur, Epcot’s egg painter, has died
I was at Epcot in Walt Disney World last week, and I learned the sad news that Jutta Levasseur has passed away. The German-born Levasseur had hand-painted egg ornaments in the Germany pavilion since the park’s opening day in 1982. She was such a fixture that the park gave her the great honor of setting… Read more »
Implosion video of Amway Arena in Orlando, shot up close
I shot this video early this morning in downtown Orlando from the VIP viewing area as the not-so-old Amway Arena (once the TD Waterhouse Centre, opened 1989) was demolished. Ka-boom! Instant 9/11 flashbacks for me, and lots of dust.
As Universal drains Jaws for the last time, I recall my time as Skipper
Sharks must keep moving or they die. What we have here is a dead shark. Universal Orlando just announced that it’s eliminating the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Florida. It was one the last of the rides that was original to the park’s 1990 opening. (Well, sort of original. It’s a retool of a hitchy… Read more »
Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening: All My Tweets
I just got back from the grand opening events of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park. I covered it for so many outlets that I don’t feel like typing those words together ever again. I wrote it up or shot it for Aol, WalletPop.com, Gadling.com, and The… Read more »
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening: Media access
I’m at the grand opening week of the new Harry Potter land at Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando. Daniel Radcliffe is here somewhere! I’ll see him tomorrow. And ride the ride. And more. It’s one big party-cum-reds release in 97-degree humid heat. Even the fake snow on Hogsmeade village looks like it could melt…. Read more »